


body, heart, mind

by Serie11



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, F/F, Fluff, Handholding, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Pre-Relationship, Worldbuilding, aka Nobodies and replicas are weird and the game doesn't deal with that enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-04-06 06:30:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19057114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/pseuds/Serie11
Summary: A body. A heart. A memory.While Riku has brought a replica, Xion doesn’t know how to begin to search for Naminé’s heart when Kairi is gone. And what memory is there, that’s strong enough to bring back a whole person?





	body, heart, mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silveradept](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/gifts).



 

Xion leans against her Keyblade and tries to picture her legs like strong trees, able to keep her standing through anything. Her knees don’t seem to get the message; they’re just as shaky as they were a second ago.

“You okay?” Roxas asks from behind her. Xion looks over her shoulder to smile at him. Oathkeeper is slung casually over his shoulder, but he looks ready for action, wherever it might come from.

Xion doesn’t think any more action is going to happen. The wind swirls the dust of the plains into small eddies, twirling it up into strange shapes that she thinks is influenced by the latent magic here. She’s been trying not to sneeze because of it ever since they arrived. She squints her eyes as a particularly hard gust blows it straight into her face, but a second later the graveyard is still again.

“Fine,” she tells Roxas. “Just… you know.”

He makes a sound in his throat, low and thoughtful. “I trust Sora,” he says.

“You think he knows what he’s doing?” Xion asks, surprised. Sora had walked off into that portal, without knowing where it would take him, and Xion is already worried about him.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Roxas says wryly. “But I do think that he’s gotten through a lot of sticky situations before. He’ll make it out of this one too. I just know it.”

Xion smiles at him. “Yeah, I think so too. But…”

“Separated again, huh?” Roxas says quietly. His eyes track the other members of their party – a dejected Riku and King Mickey, and a quiet but jubilant Aqua, Terra and Ventus. Donald and Goofy are standing behind King Mickey, looking just about as lost as she feels. Lea is standing off to the side, watching over them all. Xion wonders how he feels, now that both Sora and Kairi are gone. He looked out for them for ages – she’s going to have to ask him what they’re going to do now.

“Do you think we’ll ever just get to be, however we wish?” Xion asks him, half desperate.

Roxas dispels Oathkeeper and comes up next to her. Xion lets out a breath when he takes her hand. “Yeah,” he tells her. “Don’t ever doubt that. It’s been a long journey, I know – but we’re in this together, aren’t we? We’ll work everything out.”

Xion breathes out, and feels most of her stress flow out with it. “Yeah. Together. Soon.”

She just can’t help but look out over the ravaged battleground and wonder when, exactly, that will be.

* * *

 

King Mickey is the one who organises them all in the end. He takes them back to a strange, twilit tower that almost feels familiar; they meet a wizard who strokes his beard and tells them that Sora’s light still resides within their hearts. They must wait for a sign before their next action.

Xion is no stranger to long listless days without purpose. She chases Lea around the kitchen until he shows her how to make something with the contents of the cupboards they raid. Dinner is strange; Ven dozes on Terra’s shoulder, and Aqua’s spine seems like it’s made of straight steel, she sits so properly. Riku doesn’t eat with them, and after talking to Roxas, Xion splits up with him to try and search the tower and cajole him back to the kitchen to eat some food.

She finds him on the small lawn outside the tower, swinging his legs listlessly over the edge. He doesn’t look like he wants to be disturbed, but Xion still thinks he should come inside to eat some dinner and get some rest. Just because Sora and Kairi are gone, doesn’t mean he has to waste away too.

“Hey Riku,” she calls quietly. He doesn’t react to her presence, even though he must have known she was there. “Lea and I made dinner for everyone. You should come inside and eat it.”

“Thanks, but I’m okay,” Riku says dismissively, still not looking at her. Xion resists the urge to sigh and goes and sits down next to him, gingerly touching the edge of the cliff. The abyss of stars sparkles below her, but for some reason she doesn’t find it threatening. Maybe because the land underneath her is so solid.

“It wasn’t really a request,” she says quietly. “How are you feeling?”

Riku glances at her out of the side of his eye. “Just about as well as you’d expect,” he says cheerlessly.

“Sora and Kairi will come back. I know they will.”

Riku’s hands tighten into fists where he’s holding them on his lap.

“I should have gone with Sora… he was just so confident in that moment that I couldn’t say no to him.”

“From what I’ve seen, you usually can’t,” Xion tries to tease, but it falls flat between them. Riku stares out into the stars, but Xion doesn’t think he’s seeing any of it. “You can’t go back and change it now,” she says, trying to cheer him up.

“I know,” Riku says tersely. “Besides… there’s still work for me to do here. I think that’s why Sora insisted that he go alone. Ever since we’ve started our journey, we’ve been separated.”

“You work best apart?” Xion asks, trying to understand where he’s going with this.

“At this point, we’ve been forced to,” Riku sighs. “We’ve only fought together, properly, back when we defeated Xemnas in the World That Never Was. That was… ironically, some of the best times I remember. Even trapped in a different body, I had Kairi and Sora with me. That’s all I want anymore.”

“Sora’s out there, searching for Kairi,” Xion points out. “What other things do you have to do? You should finish them before they get back, so you guys can hang out on your islands as soon as they get here.”

“Heh,” Riku snorts. “You’re right. Thanks Xion.” He carefully stands up, taking a step away from the edge and looking back up at the tower. “I think the first thing I have to do is organise another replica for Naminé. She deserves a body of her own, just like you and Roxas.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to give her one, even though Kairi isn’t here?” Xion asks, interested.

“Yes,” Riku says confidently. “I just need to head back to Radiant Garden so I can talk to Even.”

“Can I come with you?” Xion asks impulsively.

Riku nods. “Sure, if you want. Lea and Roxas can come along too, if they’re interested in seeing other worlds.”

“I’ll ask them,” Xion says. She doesn’t recognise anywhere called Radiant Garden, so that means that Roxas hasn’t been there either. It’ll be like a recon mission – exploring a new world, figuring out what type of people live there. Except this time, she won’t have to hide from everyone. She could talk to them, tell them her name, make friends… Even the thought is strange. Maybe she’ll just stick with Riku, and let him call the shots for her first foray into a new place where she doesn’t have to hide who she is.

This replica’s face is set – she’d already taken the opportunity to find a mirror inside the tower, and carefully explored the planes of her cheeks, the slope of her nose. Aqua had described how Xion looked when Xion had asked her, one raised eyebrow indicating that she wasn’t sure if Xion was teasing her or not. Xion had listened with bated breath as Aqua described her hair, her eyes; the mirror had told her the same thing. She’s no longer dependant on Roxas or Sora to survive. She’s her own person, full and complete.

She doesn’t know if she feels that way. This body is so nebulous and new; she thinks it’ll take some time to get used to it. Luckily, time seems to spool out, endless, in front of them all now. For Riku that’s an eternity without his best friends, but for her it’s a new life, a new chance, a new time to just figure out who she is. She intends to take it.

* * *

 

Lea frowns at her when she asks if he wants to come to Radiant Garden with them.

“I was hoping to try and find Isa,” he admits. “But… Radiant Garden is as good a place to start as any, I suppose. That’s where the rest of us recompleted. But I’m pretty sure that Xehanort moved him before changing him back into a Nobody… but maybe he didn’t. I’ll come along with you.”

So of course, that means that Roxas is coming as well. Riku climbs into Sora’s seat on the gummi ship, and Xion thinks that she’s the only one that sees the flash of sadness on his face.

Roxas asks Lea questions on the trip, since he and Xion had played scissors paper rock for gunner position and he had lost. Xion squints as she takes down the Heartless ships, paying attention to Riku’s quiet calls as he telegraphs the movements of the gummi ship as they spin through space. It’s wildly different to anything Xion could have thought up as a different means for traversing the worlds, if dark corridors weren’t being used. If the mood in the gummi ship weren’t so sombre, she almost would have called it… fun.

Lea is noticeably quiet when they land, and Xion follows Riku out of the ship. Riku is holding the lifeless body that the other Riku had left behind, and Xion tries not to stare at it because it makes her uncomfortable. She blinks as she leaves the ship, the strong sunlight blinding her for a second. They’ve landed in what looks like a plaza of sorts, garden beds around the sides creating a charming picture. She can hear water fountains in the distance, and see slight wisps of smoke from houses in the town. Even after being here for a minute at most, she can feel the light of this place shining from its heart. No wonder this world had fallen years before she had been born. It would have been an extremely attractive target for the Heartless to devour.

“The castle is on the other side of town, but this is the easiest place to land,” Riku says. “We should go by Merlin’s house, anyway. I want to know how the town’s repairs are going – and the Heartless problem might need a few Keyblades to help push it back.”

“There are still Heartless here?” Xion asks. “I thought that when worlds went back to being themselves, the Heartless all just… went away.”

Riku shakes his head. “There are still lots of Heartless in this world. Leon will brief us on the situation if we see him.” Riku starts walking towards the town, and Xion shares a look with Roxas before she follows him. Lea is still dawdling near the hatch of the gummi ship, but he had told them on the way here that this is his home world, so she lets him have a bit of space. It must be hard coming back here after all this time. She still remembers the pain that going to the Destiny Islands caused her, and that was just a shadow of Sora’s longing etched onto her heart. She doesn’t know if she can understand what he’s feeling right now.

There are some people walking through the streets, but it’s still one of the most deserted worlds that Xion has ever seen. Riku finally stops in front of a small house and knocks on the door. A voice from inside calls for them to come in; Xion steps over the threshold and pauses, taking in the people in front of her.

An old man with a long white beard is sitting at a desk pouring over a book, ignoring the several people who are clustered around a table with a map on it, clearly discussing something sombre if their expressions were to be believed. A man with a scar down his face steps over to nod at Riku, who nods back. Xion resists the urge to giggle, and wonders if that’s just a ‘serious guy’ type of thing to do.

“Riku, hey. Merlin told us about Sora.”

Riku’s mouth goes tight and he nods again, much sharper this time. “Leon. I’m here about another issue. I need to talk to Ienzo and Even, but I wanted to check in and see if you needed anything from Keyblade wielders before I did. I know this world was… important, to Sora.”

Behind Leon, a woman with short black hair exchanges a sad look with a woman with longer hair.

“Thank you,” the woman with long hair says softly. “If you could spare some time, the Heartless in the Great Maw are multiplying beyond our ability to deal with.”

“You see, without Keyblade we can’t get rid of them for good!” the woman with short hair says, putting her hands on her hips. “We can kill ‘em, but they just come right back the second we turn around. If you could clear a few out, that would help us a lot.”

“If you need to talk to the scientists, it can wait,” Leon says.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lea says from where he’s leaning against the wall of the small house. “Me and Roxas can clear that up, easy as. Letting off a bit of steam, poking around this world…”

“I can go with Riku,” Xion tells Roxas. She lifts an eyebrow in a way that says ‘keep an eye on Lea.’ Roxas gives her a tiny nod, before he turns to Lea.

“Sounds like a great idea – if someone could give us a few directions as to where this place is?”

Riku looks conflicted at the sudden turn, but Xion steps over to put a hand on his shoulder. “They can take care of themselves,” she reminds him. “We have to go and see if we can restore Naminé. It’s what she deserves.”

She almost sees Riku’s resolve harden. He gives her a nod.

“I could go and show them where it is,” the woman with short hair says. “It’ll be fun!”

“Thanks Yuffie,” Leon says. “We’ll finish up this meeting, then.”

“Just like that, huh?” a man with blond hair says from the back. “Well, we were almost done anyways. I’m outta here.”

Xion watches as the meeting wraps up. Yuffie takes Roxas and Lea by the arms and half drags them out of the house. The Heartless must be more of a problem then they’ve let on. Xion waves to her friends as they leave, the door swinging shut behind them.

“Right,” Riku mutters. “I know the way to the castle,” he tells Leon. “We can get there ourselves, thanks.”

Leon gives him another manly nod, and Riku gives him one in return. Xion says goodbye to the other people in the room, half over her shoulder because Riku is already striding out the door, clearly intent on reaching the castle and the people inside as fast as he can.

“Do you really think they’ll be able to bring back Naminé?” Xion asks as they jump down some rubble to a path below. She can see that it leads up towards the castle, but is interested as to how all this would work together when it’s rebuilt.

“Yeah,” Riku says. “When it comes to questions about the heart, they really know best. And about replicas, too. Though I suppose I don’t have to tell you that.”

“Ha,” Xion murmurs to herself. “I suppose.”

They’re quiet for the rest of the walk, and it lets Xion look around at the stunning scenery. The blues and purples of the cliffs are like nothing she’s ever seen in a world before. It just makes her think – every time she thinks she can’t be surprised by a new world, she gets proven wrong.

Before Riku even pushes open the door they approach at the end of a long series of tunnels, Xion can hear the arguing.

“…think that? After everything that happened… Ienzo, please.”

“I know what he’s done, Aeleus. Please, let me decide what how I want to approach my relationship with him, myself.”

“You were a child when we were turned. It removed the years you should have had to develop your emotional reasoning.”

“And I can’t start to develop it without making decisions on my own!”

Riku has his hand half raised, clearly unwilling to interrupt the two of them. Xion takes pity on them all and knocks herself. The voices on the other side of the door cut off abruptly.

The door opens, and Xion feels a twist in her gut as Aeleus’s large frame fills the space. Lexaeus left for Castle Oblivion before she gained a lot of her consciousness, but she can still remember him in the Organisation cloak. He was always so tall, and so silent, but she knows he saw everything. It takes all the courage she’s learned to not shy away from his gaze now.

“Riku. Xion.” He says.

“May we speak to Ienzo and Even, please?” Riku says. “We have another problem.”

Aeleus regards them for another few silent seconds, staring at the replica body thrown over Riku’s shoulder, before nodding. He steps back and Xion looks into the space behind him. It’s an office, with papers strewn about on every surface, several layers deep. She wonders how they can even hope to try and find anything with that sort of filing system.

Ienzo is nowhere to be seen, but Riku doesn’t seem bothered by that. Sure enough, he’s in the connecting room, studiously typing away on the computer there, as if it weren’t obvious that they’d heard that entire conversation.

“Riku, Xion,” he says curtly. “Is there something you need?” His eyes light upon the replica that Riku is holding and he frowns slightly. “If it’s to do with the replicas, then we should call Even. He knows more about that program than I do.”

“Please,” Xion says. “It’s about Naminé. We have this body that we could give her… but we’re not quite sure how to call her heart into it.”

Ienzo puts a hand under his chin. “Put the replica on the table there. I’ll go and get Even.”

He walks out another door, and Xion wonders if she imagines the sparkle around his lab coat as it disappears out of sight. Their time as Nobodies has changed them all, intimately. Magic still charges the air around Ienzo, and the ground still rumbles when Aeleus raises his voice. She wonders if they’re aware of the effects, or if they only feel the edges of them.

Riku carefully puts down the replica, and Xion drags over a chair so she can be closer to it. Right now it’s lifeless, a doll carefully arranged how someone else wants it to be. There’s something caught in her throat when she thinks about it; once upon a time, this thing on the table was _her._ She was the thing carelessly strewn, an experiment to mark as either a failure or success. She’s past that now, and her heart beats within her, a constant reminder of it. But she still feels uneasy when she looks at the empty replica; still mourns the boy who left it behind, and aches for the girl who might fill it.

“You okay?” Riku asks her.

“Yeah,” Xion says, and surprises herself when she sniffles a bit. She wipes a tear away and takes a breath; this is for Naminé. They’d only met a few times, but Naminé had always considered her a person, and had always given her a choice. There are few other people that she can say the same thing of. “I just… want to talk to Naminé again.”

“Me too,” Riku sighs.

Xion carefully takes the replicas hand. It’s cold and clinks strangely as the joints move, but that’s okay, because Xion sometimes hears the same sounds in her own bones. If this is going to be Naminé’s body, then she wants to treat it kindly. No – even if this body was destined for no one else’s use, even if it was to be discarded as soon as she left the room, she would still be gentle with it. Doing otherwise would go against her own self, and what she’s learned to value after her long struggles.

“I’ll go and find Ienzo,” Riku says after a few more minutes pass. “Can you stay here?”

“Yeah,” Xion reassures him. She doesn’t want to leave the body. “Go and see what’s holding them up.”

Riku walks out the same door that Ienzo had, and Xion waits a few more seconds after he’s gone before she lets out a sigh and sinks deeper into the chair.

“Naminé… I wish you were here.” She squeezes the fingers of the replica and thinks about the other girl – her kindness, when Xion was beginning to think that no one could ever give her kindness for no reason. Her strength, dealing with the pressure of trying to connect Sora’s memories with both Riku and DiZ watching her every move. Her bravery, in giving Xion the information and space she needed in order to process the situation, to give her an illusion of choice in what would happen to her. In those last final days, Naminé’s soft light bolstered her just enough to keep her going. “I miss you. I really do.” Xion swallows a surge of emotion, but then shakes her head and lets it overtake her. She values Roxas and Lea, but there was something different about her interactions with Naminé that she just… wants.

When she looks up, the replica is glowing faintly.

“What –” Xion says, alarmed, and flinches back with a yell as a vibrant light suddenly overtakes the whole room. It takes a few seconds to die down, but when it does, the first thing she hears is a quiet gasp.

Xion blinks the bright spots out of her eyes and then gapes at the replica lying on the table, for it isn’t a replica anymore. Instead its face has changed, and now shoulder length blonde hair brushes its shoulders.

Xion meets Naminé’s eyes and can’t but make a surprised sound. The other girl blinks at her, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

“Naminé…?” Xion asks, wonder filling her tone. “Is it really… you?”

“Xion,” Naminé greets her. She looks around. “Where are we? What happened?”

“We’re in a castle, in a world called Radiant Garden,” Xion says, the factual information spilling from her lips. At least that’s something easy to say, something that she knows how to process – Naminé’s sudden appearance, not so much. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I was talking to Sora, in a place filled with stars… no, that’s not right.” Naminé puts a hand to her head, her eyes closing as if she’s in pain. Xion leans forward, hands hovering uselessly in the air, agonising. “I talked to Sora and Kairi, at the World That Never Was. Then… I returned to Kairi. I think I remember being… happy.”

Xion swallows, her stomach churning at the expression on Naminé’s face. It’s some kind of twist between grief and wistfulness.

“Kairi is gone, isn’t she.” It’s not a question, but Xion still nods.

“She and Sora. But Sora is out trying to find her – and you’re here now, so now I’m certain that he’ll succeed.” Xion lets out a deep breath, stress flowing out of her from where she didn’t even know it was accumulating. “How are you feeling?”

Naminé lifts a hand. She looks strange in the Organisation cloak, but since the replica was wearing that, it makes sense that she’s wearing it now as well. “I don’t think I’ve ever worn gloves before,” she admits. “I feel… strange. Heavy.”

Xion thinks about that. “Well, from what you told me before… didn’t you say you were a Nobody of someone who should have never had a Nobody?”

Naminé dips her head in agreement. “I was a shadow of a shadow,” she says sadly.

“Well you’re not anymore,” Xion says, excitement building in her chest. “You’re in a replica body now, just like me. You’re solid – you’re real.”

“I’m… real?” Naminé says the words like they surprise her; as if the mere concept of her existing is too strange for her to grasp. Xion stands up suddenly, sending her chair skating back along the floor.

“You’re real! And I’m real!” She thinks that it hadn’t even sunk in for herself yet – that’s she’s here, that she exists too. She and Naminé had been short changed at every corner, taken from and taken from even though they started out empty – but Xion forcibly filled herself, with joy and ice cream and happy memories upon a tower top, and she created an identity for herself, from the ground up. Naminé is just like her – she carved out a place for herself, claimed the mantle of a witch, decided her own fate, just like Xion did.

An answering grin starts to spread on Naminé’s face. Both girls blink at it, but then Xion holds out her hand, and Naminé grabs it. Naminé carefully draws her knees up to her chest, then places them on the ground; every movement calculated, precise. A strange kind of affection fills Xion when she looks at her; it’s like when she’s around Roxas and Lea, but at the same time, it’s completely different from that. Xion doesn’t know what type of label to put on it, not when she’s still so new to trying to name what she feels.

Naminé stands gingerly, and Xion lets her lean on her. Naminé bends her knees, stands on one leg, twists her shoulders, and doesn’t even look like she’s about to fall down. Xion lets her stand on her own, and Naminé takes a step forward, her stride small, like she still can’t quite believe that she can do it at all. Xion’s grin is still plastered onto her face, and when Naminé looks up at her after taking a step, she’s smiling as well.

“We’re real,” Naminé breathes, and Xion holds out both her hands. Naminé grabs her, and Xion spins them in a circle, pure delight at the situation filling them both. She’d been – she’d been so scared, that after losing Sora and Kairi, she would have to lose Naminé as well. Naminé deserves a life, and Xion thinks she deserves to have her in her life. Naminé is important to her, and having this sudden certainty is like finding solid ground in the midst of a storm.

Xion has weathered many a storm, but finding a safe haven is always welcome.

“We need to find the others, and show them that you’re here!” Xion exclaims. “Oh, you don’t know… Well, after a Nobody disappears, if their Heartless was defeated as well, their Somebody recompletes. So, Ienzo, Aeleus and Even are here – that’s why we came here, because we had a replica body, and we wanted to see if we could give it to you. But we could! But I think that Even at least is going to want to look you over. But only if you want to! If you don’t want to, I’ll tell him to back off. He’s only human, and I still have my Keyblade.”

Naminé puts a hand on her arm. “I see that I have a lot to catch up on,” she murmurs. “If Even and Ienzo wish to look at this body, then that’s okay with me. I want to know how you managed to call me back, and they might have answers.”

“We can get those answers without them having to look at your body,” Xion says stubbornly. “We don’t have to trade for anything.”

“It’s okay,” Naminé repeats. “There might be an issue we don’t know about. I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” Xion says. “But if you want to go, at any time, tell me and I’ll make sure we leave.”

Naminé smiles at her. “Thank you Xion.”

“Everyone went out that door,” Xion says, pointing at it. “Do you feel like you can walk? I don’t know how far it might be.”

Naminé nods after a second. “I think I should be fine. And if I need to stop, then we can just stop. There’s no rush, is there?”

“No,” Xion confirms. “Okay, let’s go.”

With Naminé at her side, Xion feels strangely giddy, like exploring the castle to find the others is no longer stressful, but a game. She runs a hand through her hair to steady herself. This is still serious, even though she’s feeling light with the triumph of succeeding and being able to bring Naminé back to their side. And Riku is going to be really happy as well; having this weight off his chest might free some of the stress that’s hanging over his head. Although, thinking about the expression he was wearing when he was thinking about Sora and Kairi – maybe not.

Either way, they leave the computer room and immediately exit into an extremely large room that’s more like a cavern. Xion stares in shock at all the strange devices on the walls, not knowing what any of them could have been used for. Beside her, Naminé makes a considering sound.

“Oh… so this was the Heartless factory. I’d always been curious as to what it might have looked like.”

“You know what this is?” Xion asks, squinting in order to try and get a better look at the strange pointy things on the walls.

“DiZ talked about it sometimes… about how his homeworld fell, because Heartless had been manufactured in the basement of the world, so close to its heart. Strange, that I would come back into being so close to where so many Heartless were created,” Naminé says. Xion looks at her, and her eyes are distant. She’s clearly thinking about something else; maybe about one of the situations that DiZ had recollected to her.

Either way, Xion spots a more pressing issue. At the very bottom of the room, she can see Riku, standing next to two people who are wearing lab coats.

“How did they get down there?” she asks, staring at the three of them.

“They probably took the lift,” Naminé says, pointing over Xion’s shoulder. Xion looks, and sure enough, there’s a lift there.

“Oh,” Xion says, feeling a touch of heat light up her cheeks. “Well, yes. I suppose we could take the lift as well.”

The meet eyes, and Xion suddenly feels a little off balance, like Naminé could turn her entire world on her head if she wanted to. She reaches out a hand, and Naminé hesitates for a second before taking it, as if she couldn’t believe Xion would do that.

“Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” Naminé says quietly. Xion resists the urge to smile, and leads the way.

The elevator is smooth enough that Xion can’t help but be surprised when the door opens again and there’s a different stop outside as compared to thirty seconds ago. Riku is the one that looks over first, and they’re close enough that Xion sees his eyes go wide.

“Xion!” he calls, breaking off from whatever he was discussing with Even and Ienzo. The two scientists also turn, but Xion focuses on Riku instead. His eyes are wide, and he’s staring at Naminé in shock.

“Hello, Riku,” Naminé says carefully, looking up at him. Riku opens his mouth, closes it again, and tilts his head.

“Naminé,” he finally says. “You’re… back?”

“I’m back,” she confirms, sounding almost as surprised as he is. “I think Xion helped me.”

Riku looks at her, and Xion can only shrug a shoulder.

“A replica and a heart, and a spark of memory,” Even calls, striding up to stand beside Riku and clinically evaluate Naminé. “Riku claims that he bought a replica back, and we still have little knowledge of where hearts actually go or come from. If Xion had a strong enough memory, it is possible that she could have restored Naminé to herself.” He looks pleased. “Of course, we should run some tests to ensure nothing else is the cause…”

“You had a strong memory? Of me?” Naminé asks Xion quietly as Even descends into planning with Ienzo. Xion can only stare at her.

“Of course I did,” Xion says, trying not to sound too hot about it. “You were so kind to me, Naminé. There’s no way I could forget that.”

“Oh,” Naminé says. They’re still holding hands. Xion wants to keep her here, to make sure she’s not about to disappear again. She’s had enough of friends leaving right in front of her eyes.

“There’s nothing surprising about it,” Riku says thoughtfully from where he’s standing. “Naminé, you were the one to tell Xion everything. I’d be way more surprised if she didn’t trust you.”

Xion sees a light sprinkling of pink cover Naminé’s cheeks before she ducks her head. “I see,” she says. “Thank you, Xion.”

Xion rubs the back of her neck. “You don’t have to, but you’re still welcome.”

“What about that?” Riku asks Ienzo after he suggests the go back to the lab.

“About what?” Xion queries.

Even and Ienzo exchange a glance between them. “The Heartless are acting up,” Ienzo says. “But that is not a problem for now.”

Xion disagrees, but lets Even herd them all back up to his lab, where Xion hovers in the background as the two scientists run a series of tests on the other girl. Riku stands beside her with his arms crossed, and Xion can tell that he’s ready to jump in if Naminé at any time looks like she’s uncomfortable. Naminé takes it all willingly, and Xion’s mind drifts back to her friends, fighting the Heartless threat. If Organisation XIII has been disbanded and are no longer stirring up trouble from the Realm Between, why would the Heartless be agitated?

“I think that’s enough,” Riku cuts in sharply, voice brooking no dissent. Xion blinks as she comes out of her thoughts and looks up to see Ienzo writing something down on a clipboard while Even stares down Riku. Naminé is still sitting on the bench, but the needle in Even’s hand probably has something to do with Riku’s tautness.

“I simply need to check –”

“She looks fine to me,” Riku says coldly. Xion steps in to support him.

“Naminé, would you like to come with Riku and I while we go and check on Roxas and Lea?”

“Lea?” Naminé asks quietly.

Xion smiles at her. “A lot has changed.” She steps forward and helps Naminé up. The other girl’s legs are still a little wobbly, but Xion doesn’t mind her leaning on her.

“We’ll come back later if Naminé thinks there’s something wrong,” Riku says.

“Very well,” Ienzo says, cutting off Even who has a dark expression. Riku nods once and turns to leave, marching out the door. Xion takes Naminé’s hand and pulls her along after him.

“We can’t keep them, anyway.” Ienzo’s muffled voice comes through the door just before they get out of hearing range. Xion bites her lip and quickens her step to catch up to Riku.

“Riku!” she says. “Why’d you say that?”

Riku doesn’t look at her, eyes instead flicking around, ready and waiting for anything that wanted to attack them. “You and Roxas had no tests conducted on you, and you’re both fine. I’d bet that was all just for Even’s data, and I think Naminé has had enough of being poked at.”

“Thank you, Riku,” Naminé says quietly. Riku glances at her and nods.

“Don’t worry about it. Though… there are some questions I’d like to ask you.”

“Maybe later,” Xion suggests. Riku needs to know where Kairi and Sora went, but Naminé still seems pretty dazed. “We should go and find Roxas and Lea, and see if they need any help.”

Riku makes a considering noise. “Their talk of the Heartless getting out of hand is worrying. Those two are strong, but there’s a limit for everyone. I don’t want them to reach it.”

“Do you want me… to stay behind?” Naminé asks, so quietly that Xion almost doesn’t hear it.

“Nah,” she says, flashing a smile at her. “But I don’t think it’d be too big of a detour to go back into town and get you some different clothes.”

“Xion –” Riku tries to say.

Xion stares at him and Riku looks away. “There’s no way I’m leaving you behind,” Xion says, determination running through her. Naminé’s mouth opens a tiny bit, and she blinks before nodding.

“We should hurry, then,” Riku murmurs.

* * *

 

Xion doesn’t trade out her own dark cloak just yet – it’s useful as it gives her a strong protection against light and darkness, and she doesn’t want to fight in something she isn’t used to, anyway. Yuffie is excited to hand out some new clothes, but Riku tersely tells her to be quick, which dims her enthusiasm a little bit. She and Aerith go to retrieve some things they own that they think might fit Naminé, while Riku questions Leon and Cid some more about the Heartless problem.

Xion sighs as she sits down next to Naminé, who has her hands folded in her lap carefully. The boys across the room are debating something, but whatever it is, she has enough faith in Riku to figure it out. Right now, she’s more concerned about the girl sitting next to her.

“Are you feeling okay?” Xion asks quietly.

Naminé hums, turning her hands over. “It’s strange… this body is so solid. I was only a whisper of a dream, before. Now I feel so heavy.”

Xion flexes her hands, but it all feels the same to her. Probably because she’s never had any other type of body than that of a replica. “I don’t think I quite understand,” she admits. “But it’s not… bad, is it?”

“No,” Naminé confirms. “I… like it. I always felt like anything could blow through my and scatter me. It was up to my strength of will to keep myself together. Now it feels like I don’t have to fear that I’m going to float away.”

Xion’s throat closes as she struggles with that for a few seconds. “I’m glad,” she finally says. “I remember what it was like, to feel so fragile and brittle. And I still remember fading away in Roxas’s arms.”

Xion lowers her head, and Naminé places a comforting hand on her arm. “Your memories belong to you, now,” she says. “I can tell. Your connection to Sora has been broken.”

“You can feel Sora?” Xion asks quietly. They’d sketched a brief overview of current events for Naminé on their way here.

Naminé sits, motionless. “I’m not sure,” she finally says. “Before when I touched his memories, I always knew where he was. I don’t know if I need to know that to be able to use my powers. Or maybe, my powers are all gone, taken away with my old body.”

“Do you think so?” Xion asks, genuinely curious. She doesn’t see why they would be – after all, Naminé’s powers should be tied to Naminé’s heart, but she’s not exactly an expert on replicas or Nobodies.

Naminé finally shakes her head. “I won’t be able to tell unless I try with someone with very close ties to Sora. I can tell that you’re no longer connected to him; that’s all.”

“Oh,” Xion mumbles. No longer connected to Sora? She’s spent her entire existence being defined by Sora, that the thought of floating away from him is giddy and terrifying at the same time. Who is she, without him?

“Riku will probably ask me to try with him, later,” Naminé says. “If both Sora and Kairi are gone, then he’s the one with the strongest connection to both them left.”

“Yeah,” Xion confirms. “That’s for sure.”

The door opens, and Aerith and Yuffie come in, both of them carrying far too many clothes just for one person. Yuffie cheerfully dumps her pile on the floor in front of Naminé and Xion, and grins at them.

“See if there’s anything you like in there, Naminé!”

“We tried to pick out things in your size,” Aerith says, holding out a few things for the two girls to look at. “Yuffie thought you might want something with a bit of colour.”

“That’s a great idea,” Xion says, smiling back at them. She looks at Naminé, only to find that the other girl has a touch of colour on both her cheeks.

“This is… for me?” she asks.

“Course!” Yuffie says. “Now tell me which ones you like, so I can prove Aerith wrong about your fashion sense!”

Naminé seems frozen where she’s sitting, so Xion goes and picks up a few of the pieces of clothing. She puts all the miniskirts in a ‘do not touch’ pile, and carefully pries out a few other things she thinks might be suitable. Naminé eventually comes to stand beside her as Xion fends off Yuffie’s enthusiasm.

“Which of these two do you like?” Xion asks Naminé directly.

“Aw, you sure you don’t like these?” Yuffie asks, holding up a black mini skirt.

“I don’t think she’s as goth as you were in your teen years,” Aerith says, amused.

“The – blue?” Naminé says, looking at Xion for confirmation.

“I like that one too,” Xion says happily, ignoring the gently squabbling friends. “And what about this?”

Naminé takes the other item of clothing and then nods.

“You can go and change out the back,” Aerith says. She passes a bag to Naminé who takes it hesitantly. “That has… some other clothes in it.”

Naminé tilts her head and looks at Xion, but Xion just shrugs one shoulder. Naminé takes the clothes and heads through the door at the back of the room.

“Are you sure you don’t want to change, too?” Yuffie asks loudly. Xion hides her instinctive flinch, but her loudness and her humanity are very strong, and she’s used to the quiet whisper of shadows.

“She already said no,” Aerith tells Yuffie calmly.

“It’s okay,” Xion says. “I’ll probably be fighting later, so it’s better to be wearing things that I’m comfortable in.” She’s only ever worn this. She doesn’t know how she’d feel, wearing… something else. The idea is strange. Aerith and Yuffie exchange a glance over her head.

“That’s a good idea, then,” Yuffie says.

“Xion,” Riku calls. “Can you come take a look at this?”

Xion moves between Aerith and Yuffie to look at the map that is sitting on the table between Cid, Leon and Riku. It shows the town, and goes into the gorge and castle as well.

“Do you know anything about this?” Cid asks gruffly. Xion looks at Riku, but he just encourages her to look at the map. Xion turns her attention to it. There are several flags marked out in several colours.

“Yellow is slight outbreak. Red is big outbreak,” Leon says.

There’s a lot of red flags clustered in the gorge, where Lea and Roxas went. There’s some yellow scattered throughout town, and some red between the town and the castle.

“Do you recognise anything? Did the Organisation ever do anything like this?”

Xion shakes her head. “We never spread Heartless into any world. We just went and cleared them out with the Keyblade. They were already there.”

Riku nods, and Leon hums thoughtfully. “The Heartless that came before… it wasn’t like this,” he says. “It was a giant wave, all at once. This is more random.”

Xion hears a door open behind her, and turns to see Naminé. She’s wearing the blue shirt, the sleeves just poofy enough to stand up on their own. The dark overalls Xion had suggested look comfortable, and should be practical if she needs to run anywhere.

“You look great,” Yuffie cheers. Naminé comes over to stand next to Xion, and Xion smiles at her.

“You look happy in that,” she says.

“I… think I am,” Naminé admits. She looks at the map laid out on the table. “What’s this?”

“The flags are markers for all the Heartless spawn locations,” Leon repeats.

“Strange… it looks like the plan that DiZ used to talk about,” Naminé comments.

“DiZ?” Cid presses.

“When did he talk about that?” Riku asks. “I don’t remember it.”

“It was when you weren’t around,” Naminé says. “He never really talked about why or where this place was, but I think he always… intended to go back to that place. It must be here.”

“We know that Ansem the Wise was masquerading as DiZ,” Riku says grimly. “But he’s up at the castle, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” Leon says thoughtfully. “If he’s connected to this… I don’t like it.”

“We should go and talk to him,” Riku suggests.

“I’ll come with you,” Leon says.

“I’ll go and see how Roxas and Lea are doing,” Xion says. “There’s a lot of flags there – I’m a bit worried about them.”

Riku nods. “Take these.” He passes her half a dozen hi-potions, a few ethers clinking between them. “When you find them, try to regroup and pull back to the castle.”

“Okay,” Xion says.

“I’ll come with you,” Naminé offers.

“Are you sure?” Xion asks. She can’t help the touch of worry that comes into her voice.

Naminé tilts her head. “I may not have a Keyblade, but I can still use magic. And the Heartless don’t particularly like me – or at least, they didn’t before. I don’t know if that’s changed, now.”

Xion hesitates for a second, but if Naminé says she wants to come, it should be fine. “Then you can hold all these,” she says, giving the potions to her. “You can use all your new pockets, and if you concentrate on healing, I can just fight if we come across anything.”

“Okay,” Naminé says.

“We should go right now,” Riku says.

“I don’t need anything else.” Xion turns to look at Naminé, but she shakes her head.

“Okay –”

A crash echoes from outside, and immediately all of them are on high alert. The door opens and a woman with long, black hair appears, dirt smeared up her white shirt.

“There’s a real big Heartless out here!” she yells. “Some backup would be nice!”

“Tifa!” Aerith yells. She runs out the door following the other woman, Yuffie hot in her footsteps.

“Xion!” Riku calls, and Xion nods. It only takes a second to summon Oblivion, and then she’s racing outside.

The Heartless is floating in the courtyard. Tifa dodges out of the way as it sends a beam of energy towards her, leaving a smoking trail on the ground. Xion darts forward, jumping as high as she can to start a combo on it. She finishes her combo in time to see Riku jump up, and then jump again, going up so high that he can start pummelling its head.

“Hiya!” A ball of fire goes past her, courtesy of Leon.

“Xion!” Naminé calls. “Go around the back, so you can reach its weak spot!”

“Where?” Xion asks, bracing herself before she casts blizzara. The spell floats towards the enemy, and when it makes contact a large part of it gets frozen.

“I can tell – at the back of its neck, there’s a weak spot.” Naminé appears at her side, and Xion casts reflect to guard them both against another wild laser attack. “If we go up the stairs, we can gain a height advantage.”

“Okay,” Xion says. Naminé starts running, and Xion follows more carefully, always keeping an eye on the Heartless. The others are keeping it pretty occupied, so they make it up the stairs without any issues.

“Do you see that?” Naminé asks.

“Yeah,” Xion says. There’s a yellow patch on the back of the Heartless’s neck. “How did you know it was there?”

“I’ve always been able to see weaknesses in things,” Naminé deflects. “Now go!”

“Right,” Xion mutters. She concentrates for a second and coats Oblivion in light, so the attack will be as strong as possible. It’s easy to leap from the path just as something knocks the Heartless back, and she attacks that spot.

The Heartless yowls and flies off as soon as she’s landed her finisher. Xion drops down to the courtyard heavily, managing not to stumble on the landing.

“Nice job!” Tifa yells.

“We should go after it,” Leon says as the group meets up in front of Merlin’s house.

“You need to go and talk to Ansem the Wise,” Aerith says. “Yuffie, Tifa and I can track the Heartless. It might have something to do with the rest of them.”

“Right,” Leon says. The three women quickly leave the area. “Riku, are you coming with me?”

“Yeah,” Riku says. “Xion, you’re okay to go with Naminé, right? She’s just woken up, after all.”

“We’re meeting up with Roxas and Lea,” Xion points out. “We’ll be fine.”

Riku’s eyes linger on Oblivion in her hand for a second. Xion dismisses it, and he shakes himself.

“Right. Try not to do anything reckless.”

“We won’t,” Xion promises. She heads back up the staircase to find Naminé at the top.

“The others are going after it,” she explains. “We should go and find Roxas and Lea.”

“Okay,” Naminé agrees. “Lead the way.”

“I only know where we split off, but I remember the map,” Xion says. They walk through the shattered bailey area, and Xion helps Naminé as they descend the large steps.

“How are you feeling?” Xion asks.

“Fine,” Naminé says. “Like I said before, it’s strange.”

“Well, tell me if anything changes,” Xion requests. She wants to know right away if something’s wrong. “I don’t want you to get hurt because you didn’t say something.”

“Like with Even?”

Xion hesitates. “I’m in a replica too, and he hasn’t done anything to me. I think he was interested in you because you weren’t always a replica. You noticed that he didn’t even look at me, right?”

“I noticed,” Naminé confirms. “If anything changes, I’ll tell you.”

Xion flashes a grin at her. “Thanks.”

Naminé ducks her head. “You’re… welcome.”

As they walk into a plaza, several Heartless spawn. Xion summons Oblivion and quickly dispatches them. She turns just as one steps towards Naminé, but the other girl steps back and lifts her hand. Before Xion can get there, she casts a simple fire spell that defeats the enemy.

“You okay?” Xion asks. Naminé is looking down at her hands, but looks up as Xion speaks.

“Yes…”

“It feels strange as well?”

Naminé huffs. “Correct.”

“I feel different too,” Xion admits. “And… my face is the same.”

“I know,” Naminé says quietly. “Your memories are connected to yourself, and your core. I’m… glad. You didn’t deserve to be broken apart to fill the holes in others.”

Xion keeps her focus ahead. She bites her lip and takes a steadying breath before replying.

“I knew it was unfair, back then. Being myself, just by myself now… it’s freeing.”

Xion doesn’t know how to feel – she’s talked to Roxas a bit, but he never knew how brittle she was inside. Naminé had seen it all, every glittering edge, and had navigated around them without cutting herself. Lea has always been perceptive, but he couldn’t know how it felt to be stitched together at someone else’s hands, not like her and Roxas and Naminé. And while they’d all been used, she and Naminé had both been dismissed.

“What are we going to do, after this?” Naminé asks.

Another few Heartless spawn, and Xion takes them all out as quickly as she can. Naminé doesn’t have to move from where she’s standing.

“I don’t know,” Xion admits. “The World That Never Was is gone, and there’s no way I would want to go back there, anyway. Going to the Destiny Islands would be too strange without Sora and Kairi there. I don’t know how Lea feels about this world, even though it’s his home world. Maybe… we’ll all go back to Twilight Town.” She looks at the other girl. “What about you?”

“It’s the same,” Naminé admits. “I don’t have anywhere to go… and I’ve never called any place home.”

“Me neither,” Xion admits. “But I _want_ a place to call home. We all deserve one – you too.” She hesitates for a second. “Do you think… would you want to come with me?”

“With you?” Naminé asks, clearly surprised.

“Yeah,” Xion says. Her cheeks are hot – why? Her heart is fluttering in her chest, but she’d already cleared out the Heartless. “I’m sure Roxas would be fine with that. He didn’t get to talk to you much, did he? But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to get to know you. And I want to know you better, too. I know that none of us have ever lived anything close to a ‘normal’ life, but maybe… we could try?”

“You’d want that?” Naminé asks. “You’d really want… to have me around?”

Xion stops in her tracks. Naminé continues for a pace, and then turns around to look at her.

“Naminé…” Xion says softly. “We didn’t deserve what happened to us. And we deserve a chance to live a different life than the one that was forced upon us. And I want you to be there, as well. Will you consider it, at least?”

Naminé stares at her, and Xion takes a small step closer. Her cheeks are growing warmer by the second.

“Yes,” Naminé says. “I’d… like to try and build something with you, after all of this.”

Xion reaches her hands out, and Naminé meets her halfway. Xion grins at her.

“Sounds like a plan. Now, how about we go and Roxas and Lea? They’re probably bumming around somewhere, only defeating whatever Heartless they can find. After we meet up, we can figure out what our next move it.”

Naminé smiles at her, and Xion feels like the world gets a little brighter.


End file.
